Sticking with it

At 78, Barry Witkin is using his CPA designation to help his son develop StickerYou, a business that provides consumers and companies with customized stickers and labels.

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At 78, Barry Witkin is still at the top of his game and has no interest in spending his golden years on a beach or golfing. Instead, he is putting his CPA designation to use by helping his son, Andrew, develop his business StickerYou, which provides consumers and companies with customized stickers, labels, patches and decals.

“I have a lot of contacts and felt I could go out to these people and introduce StickerYou,” he says. Witkin’s Rolodex is vast — his lengthy career started with cofounding The Purple Onion Coffee House, Toronto’s legendary venue for folk music in the 1960s that once hosted big-name musicians such as Gordon Lightfoot and Buffy Sainte-Marie.

Witkin also spent a decade at a small firm that later merged with BDO, and more recently founded two specialized recruiting firms geared to employing the 50-plus set in the work world.

As for StickerYou, Witkin drums up business by putting boots to the ground at trade shows and hand-delivers orders to meet the customers.

At this point he shows no signs of slowing down. “I’m not the type of person who wants to retire.I love working,” he says. “It stimulates me.”

About the Author

Dexter Brown

Highlights

Sustainability and corporate reporting; the pursuit of knowledge development, advancement, and sharing has existed from the early establishment of the accounting profession — and continues to grow as CPAs champion research and innovation.

Sustainability is an increasingly important issue for business, communities and the world. Learn how embracing sustainability can help organizations not only contribute to society but also become more profitable and successful in the long term.